A growing number of public schools in the United States offer bilingual language immersion programs. Designed for children of many backgrounds, these immersion programs offer students the opportunity to take classes in both English and French. Because subjects such as math, science or history are taught in French in these immersion programs, French becomes the medium of instruction rather than a foreign language.
Today, bilingual education is unquestionably the most original and effective solution to meet the challenge of opening the United States to the French language and the Francophone world.
The benefits of bilingual education are now recognized by all. Alongside greater open-mindedness and improved cognitive and intellectual agility, those who benefit from bilingual education are better positioned to access top-tier universities and gain entry into an increasingly globalized job market.
French dual language programs are developing rapidly within the American public educational system. The network of French dual language programs now serves over 30,000 students. Today, 29 states offer English-French dual language programs in over 182 schools.
For more information about French Dual Language and Immersion in the United States, visit: www.frenchdli.org
Recognizing the momentum behind French bilingual education in the United States, the FACE Foundation has recently launched anambitious initiative: the French Dual Language Fund. This Fund supports French bilingual education across the United States, offering quality intellectual and multicultural education, as well as increased opportunities to succeed professionally in our globalized world. French President Emmanuel Macron inagurated the French Dual Language Fund on September 20, 2017 at the Graduate Center of CUNY, catalyzing a new generation of dual language education.
Specifically, this Fund is separated into three main initiatives: an annual grant program in the form of a call for projects; a scholarship program for students who will become bilingual teachers; and a program to support French teaching interns in schools.
